Let's Dance! (Part 3-4)
Let's Dance is the fourth episode of The New Directions: New Generation's first season, taking place in an Alternate Universe-version of Glee's fourth season. It is broken into four chapters and set during the week of October 15 2012. Will has decided to reboot New Direction's "Booty Camp", but when Hayley takes offense to being overlooked at as an assistant in favor of Nina, the week evolves into the team's first Dancing Diva Off. Nikki is plotting against Hayley, and Carter makes Katie a tempting offer. Ashwin and Emma seem to be fixing their problems, only to have new ones pop up, while Stassi blackmails Dalton into a date to make someone jealous, and Dalton's attempts to reach out to Roxie fail miserably. The Plot The plot of Let's Dance! is broken into four chapters: Part 3 Ashwin and Nina are practicing Latin choreography in the auditorium for their upcoming Ballroom competition. The junior asks if Ashwin straightened things out with Emma, which he explains that they did talk it out last night. Nina wonders if the sophomore may be overstretching herself, but Ashwin counters with who are they to judge? He, in turn, asks if she's nervous about the Diva-Off,and she explains that while she's not usually so competitive, Hayley's ego is rubbing her wrong. Ashwin suggests they try a harder routine, and Emma comes in to congratulate them when they pull it off successfully. She tells them she wanted to work on her routine with him, and he agrees happily, and the two wish Nina luck for when they see her at that afternoon. As Dalton and Stassi walk down the halls, he reflects on her admission to her at BreadstiX: that she was dating him because she wanted to make someone jealous. She also observed that while he was interested in Roxie, he wasn't making any moves, and suggested he might want to try to rectify that. The two walk down the hall and he notices Walt and Roxie talking. He breaks off from Stassi, who makes her way into an empty classroom, to go talk to them. Roxie, who already knows about Stassi, blushes as the other boy asks about his date. Dalton tries to shrug it off, asking how the freshman is, but is upset when Walt reveals he went and checked on her yesterday. Roxie leaves, and Dalton accuses his friend of trying to bring him down. Walt comes back with the fact that he was trying to help, but since she already knew and he didn't have details there was only so much he could do. Walt reminds his friend that he can't win the game if he doesn't try to score some points. In a trigonometry classroom, Stassi comes upon Nikki, who comments on her dating Dalton, curious why she is interested in dating him. She comments that Stassi's game of amusing herself by pissing off Jennifer is distracting her from framing Hayley, and when Stassi asks if they can't just turn in the file, Nikki reminds her it's too risky. Stassi is reluctant, but the HBIC reminds her that sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good. During class, Katie and Caroline are discussing the latter's date with Teddy. The brunette wonders when Katie is going to divulge the mystery man that asked her out, but Katie is stubborn that until she knows what she thinks about this situation, she's not saying a word. Caroline asks if Dylan's a factor in her hesitance, and is disappointed when Katie implies he is. She accidentally reveals that she coached Dylan on how to court Katie, which upsets her friend greatly and now realizes she doesn't know anything about the boy she liked. Hayley walks down the hallway past Liam, who's staring stubbornly at his math book and not look at her. She's been trying catch his next prank, which turns out to be his "good luck" sliming of her locker. When she comes back, she is faced with Jennifer Johnson, who angrily accuses her of being behind the prank. Hayley lies about her involvement, claiming that the prank reads nothing like her, and that she could care less about a less-than-nothing like Jennifer. Stassi is tracked down by journalist Addie Baxter and asked for an interview concerning the recent feud between her and Nikki. At first Stassi refuses to be questioned, instead mocking Addie for her size and former crush on previous Glee star Rachel Berry, but eventually consents to three questions for the paper. She answers Addie's questions about her feelings considering the feud (that it's a simple disagreement and will blow over soon) and about being "replaced" by Jennifer Johnson (that she has no personal ill will toward the girl and Nikki can have whoever she wants as a second) with complete impartiality, but when the buxom blonde asks about her using Dalton as a way to tear down Jennifer, she denies it angrily. Addie argues that Stassi does not look like she's enjoying the relationship, passionately explaining that finding someone worth kissing should "make your insides burn up just thinking about them". Becoming uncomfortable, the junior cuts the girl down, claiming that the third question has been answered and she doesn't want to see anything untoward in the article considering the conflict. She then makes a quick escape to Glee. In the auditorium the club has gathered in the audience except for Will, Nina, and Hayley on stage. Will announces the Diva-off, and the two perform Britney Spears' Circus to complex choreography. By the end they're working in-tandem and have reached a mutual respect for each other. Later, Stassi is sitting alone in the Glee room reflecting on Nikki's words about sacrifice. Hayley walks in and the two once again begin arguing over who kissed who, with Hayley arguing that Stassi would be better off with someone easy to manipulate like Addie Baxter. Stassi shoots back that the other girl's ideal would probably be someone like Jem. This causes Hayley to exclaim that she can't stand her and every time she sees her she wants to jump in a pool of napalm. As Stassi screamed that Hayley was stalking her in return, Addie's words echo back to her and she finds herself pulling Hayley in for a kiss. Though the junior is thrilled by the other's response, she is dreading the next day. Part 4 Dylan and Everett are practicing choreography in the auditorium, and both are very happy with the former's progress. During their water break, Dylan asks about RENT, and Everett comments that they're running tech rehearsals right now, which are going very slowly. Suddenly Coby appears and asks why Dylan's hiding in the auditorium. Though the freshman argues that he's not, Coby insists that he's letting Katie get away from him by not racing after her. Dylan points out that he's already let her down once and that she probably wouldn't give him a second chance, but the jock points out that she hasn't accepted the anonymous jock's proposal yet, therefore giving the boy time. When Dylan asks how he could possibly convince her to let him try again, Everett suggests he just tell her the truth. After a moment of consideration, Dylan races out the door. When Everett asks Coby why he helped Dylan, the larger junior replies that he saw Katie's hesitance in her body language earlier and is a sucker for happy endings. Everett agrees, and Coby volunteers to entertain them for the remaining time with dialogue from a scene in UP. Stassi and Dalton are walking together down the halls, and he notices that she's quiet. When he asks her about it, she says she's just thinking, and he asks if it has to do with her efforts to make someone jealous. She explains that the plan backfired, and the whole situation has instead become more complicated, to which Dalton sympathizes. He suddenly sees Walt and Roxie talking down the hall, and Stassi, following his line of sight, breaks up with him so he can go after her. Stassi meanwhile is still agonizing over her choices, uncertain which is the right one. As she heads to a locker, she is slushied by Jennifer Johnson, who explains to her that she'd better get used to the bottom of the ladder. As she scurries to the bathroom, she makes her decision and attempts to clean herself before the others arrive to help. Leaving the massive stain on her uniform, she quickly walks back to Hayley's locker and removes the incriminating folder before moving to get back to the bathroom in time for the Gleeks to "help" her. Annie stabs at her salad during lunch distractedly: she's still thinking about Hayden, who is now refusing to answer her notes or even acknowledge her. She realizes that she likes the blonde-- that for once she seems to have met a guy that saw the real her, and not just someone that could make them more popular or they could tap her Spanks. She turns to ask her friends for advice, and Caroline tells her not to give up hope, insisting as she looked at Katie that all relationships have rough spots. Katie, still angry about Caroline's interference with Dylan, retorts that it's equally important to be honest and not to meddle. Michelle feels like they may be too different, but Nina disagrees, saying that Annie may need to start by making more of an effort to connect with his world before trying to pull him back to hers. Annie smiles at her friends, feeling more hopeful. Suddenly, Ernie comes up to the table and whispers to Michelle, who looks horrified as she whispers Stassi's name. Dalton sits at the lunch table as Coby and Crash babble about the upcoming game, watching Walt and Roxie's silent conversation. He hates that they're so close, and when the girl gets up, he moves to run after her. He tries to explain that he didn't explain going out with Stassi because everything moved so fast, but she informs him that she saw them at BreadstiX and understands him dating someone pretty and popular. Roxie reminds him that they make sense and, like he said, it's none of her business who he dates as she walks away. An unhappy Dalton, however, watches her and quietly argues that he never said that. In the hallway, Hayley watched as a sizable crowd followed Figgins and Jennifer Johnson. She is stunned when they stop at her locker and Figgins explains that an anonymous tip hinted that plans for the slushy prank were hidden in her locker. Hayley, knowing it's an obvious set-up, tries to argue, but knows that Figgins and Jennifer are both looking for a reason to expel her and can do nothing but watch. Luckily, the folder Jennifer pulls out of the locker is empty, and Figgins lectures her on making accusations without proof, saying she will not be given the benefit of the doubt in her suspicions any longer. Jennifer is in a fit and screams that Hayley will not get away with this before running off, and Hayley, while uncertain about specifics of the scene, basks in Jennifer being made an idiot while she apparently got off scot-free. Caroline is watching the boys work on their film while dwelling over her problems with Katie, who still won't talk to her. Teddy tells her to just give her time, but Caroline isn't as certain. Liam distracts them by unhappily announcing without the proper equipment the film will never get off of the ground. Andrew suggests that Bailey may change her mind, but his friend reminds him that, after last time, she'd never do it. When he suggests Teddy ask, the junior counters that he spends too much time with the boys and she'd know it was them. Teddy suggests asking Bert and Ernie for help, but Liam argues they'd never help out the competition when the stakes are this high. Caroline then offers to ask Michelle to ask a favor of Bert, insisting that they're all far enough removed that no one would make the connection until it was too late. Grinning, Liam tells Teddy he has quite the winner and they begin making plans. As the group walked out into the halls, they are assaulted by a group of jocks with slushies and Katie, who is watching from further down the locker, realizes that things are going to get worse before they get better. Emma and Ashwin are practicing her routine and she sits to take a break. Ashwin tries to kiss her, but she breaks away, telling him they need to talk. Emma states she wants to break up, but Ashwin refuses, saying he wouldn't let a stupid fight ruin their relationship. Emma argues that it's more than just the fight, and he antagonizes her, causing her to tear. He feels awful and apologizes, though he still doesn't want to let her go. Emma explains to him that watching his chemistry with Nina when they danced made her realize that she may not have actually been in love with Ashwin, that she may just love him like a friend and was afraid to be alone for the past two years. She tells him she wants the chance to find something with the spark she sees when he dances, even if it takes more work than she's used to. Ashwin is unhappy, but wants what's best for Emma and agrees, though he assures her that he's not going to dating Nina any time soon. Dylan approaches Katie while she's alone in the hallway. He admits he made up liking all of the things she liked, and she tells him that Caroline told her. He continues by informing her who he is: that he wears baggy clothes and loves acting and chess and watching horror movies. He explains that he's fiercely loyal to his family and can't explain his problems without sounding pathetic, so he won't try, but if she'd give him a second chance he could make it up to her. Katie sadly explains, while she'd love to try again, she's just agreed to go out with Carter Macy. She explains over his horrified expression that the jock can and will call a cease-fire on the jocks if she dates him. She swears Dylan to secrecy, to which he agrees, and thanks him for his honesty. However, as they enter the glee room, he can feel his heart chipping into tiny pieces. As the Glee Club watches Emma perform her dance routine to Ashwin and Dylan dueting to Nickel Creek's When You Come Back Down, many are reflecting on their current situations. Ashwin watches wistfully as Emma performs the difficult choice she's had to make for herself, while Dylan sings to Katie about supporting her through her sacrifice. Meanwhile, Stassi is lost in thought as she remembers Nikki's disappointment in her failure: she'd lied, saying she hadn't been able to find an opportunity, but whether Nikki believed her or not, she unhappily commented on her best friend picking the wrong time to go soft. Watching Emma dance, Stassi wonders if she may have lost her closest friend. Meanwhile, Sue is ranting about Nikki's failure, and decides to bring out the big guns against Will's club for total social annihilation. 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